Blank Cobwebs
by Yuriko Quested
Summary: Janos Quested (a.k.a Riptide) is enjoying life in the aftermath of X-men: First Class. With Erik leading them The Brotherhood has never seemed stronger. But when a new threat, Boliver Trask, comes to destroy mutant-kind forever, will Janos and his firends prevail? Or will love and loss prove too much for Janos to cope with? Set in a time between First Class and Days of Future Past.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! Thank you so much for clicking into this story!**

**Janos Quested (Riptide) had ALWAYS been my favourite character from the moment I saw him In X-men: First Class. So when he vanished in X-men: Days of Future Past, I was devastated! He was never mentioned dead by Erik nor did his photo show up in those that Raven found. So where could he have gone?**

**Set in the time between X-men First Class and X-men: Days of Future Past, this will explore Janos' past, present and future. The entire story is in his view, third person. The bold 'XxxxX' indicate a new scene.**

**Please enjoy this story, I hope you like it! This is my first fanfiction ever, so please leave a review if you can! Thank you! :)**

**XxxxX**

Janos clutched at the bar above his head like it was a lifeline; sweat was dripping from his body as he pulled himself up for yet another chin-up. His arms were aching, his stomach muscles clenched tightly in concentration. The music blared loudly in his ears, vibrating through his veins, keeping him going. It was time like this where he could have a moment of his own, alone in the gym. Already he had worked on the dumbbells and punching bag, but for some reason chin-ups were his favourite exercise to finish up with. Maybe it was because it put strain on every part of his arms. He needed to be as strong as possible; it took a lot of work to harness the power that he did. When he spun his tornados and hurricanes, he made it look easy. But it wasn't. For years as a child he had struggled with his power, breaking his own bones on more than one occasion.

It was quiet at this time of the night; he always went to bed late, not being the heaviest sleeper around. That title was given to Mystique; Janos smiled through his intense workout at the thought. The young woman had once slept through Erik tipping her off her bed, causing her to flop on the floor with impact heavy enough to bruise. Azazel eventually managed to wake her by tickling her sides. With another grunt, Janos lifted his body weight again. It had been five months since his former leader, Sebastian Shaw, had been killed and the team had been put under the rule of Erik. Janos had always admired Erik for doing that; he had secretly hated Shaw and his foolish goals. He had told Erik that himself, after they had left the X-men on the Cuban beach.

Since then, things had changed for the better. Although still strict and fierce, Erik was a more lenient leader, focusing on more realistic goals than Shaw had. Janos had watched as tough, unpredictable Azazel had slowly fallen for Mystique, the newest member to the team. It was strange; Azazel was the last person Janos had thought to fall in love, but fallen in love he had. He was happy for his best friend though; after all their troubles and hardships, Azazel deserved this.

Janos closed his eyes, letting the music wash his thoughts away from his mind. The beat pounded in time with his heart, fast and heavy in his chest. Losing himself like this was something Janos didn't do often. He was very focused on the task at hand, fighting for his team, making his leader proud. He would lay down his life for the team, as everyone else in it would. But for now, just in this moment, he let his thoughts slip and continued his chin-ups. Finally, he didn't think his body could take another one. As hard as he tried, he couldn't lift his head high enough to see over the bar. As hard as he pulled on the bar, sweat running in rivets down his forehead, he couldn't make it. His hands opened and he dropped back to the floor, knees weak with exhaustion. The music dropped away into silence as he pulled the headphones off his head. Walking slowly over to the bench by the wall, he grabbed his purple towel and began wiping himself down.

"You work yourself too hard." A voice said by the doorway.

Janos smiled through his panting, passing the towel over the back of his neck. He didn't think Azazel had been watching. "Nah, man. You do the same as me, you know it."

"Ah," Azazel walked into the room and sat on the dumbbell seat. "But I don't work till the point where my hands are trembling."

Looking down at his shaking hands, Janos wiped them before turning to face his best friend. Azazel was wearing his black fleece pants; Raven had given them to him. Janos looked into his friend's solemn golden eyes and sat down on the bench next to his towel. "How come you're not sleeping? Did Raven kick you awake again?"

Azazel gave a gentle laugh, showing his sharp teeth. He didn't smile or laugh much when the team was on duty. But off duty, he was the kindest man Janos had come to know. Grinning at Janos, Azazel placed one hand on his own knee. "Not this time, comrade. I just felt like a little night air."

Janos smirked at Azazel's favourite word for his friends; 'comrade'. It hadn't taken long to get used to the Russian word for 'teammate' when he had first started working with Azazel. In return, Janos would tease him with 'amigo', the Spanish word for friend. So, after downing half his water bottle, he flashed a grin. "What's wrong, amigo? Jealous of your non-sleeping best friend?"

Azazel pulled a face. "Don't call me that. It makes me sound like a musketeer, you know that."

Janos laughed, feeling his muscles finally starting to relax after the intense exercise. He had been best friends with this man for longer than he could remember. He couldn't remember in the team, be it with Shaw or Erik, when Azazel had not been there with him. Side by side, they had conquered giants and knocked down walls, defeating their own demons together.

With a final soft look, one that an older brother might give a younger brother, Azazel stood and walked slowly from the room, tail swaying behind him. "You should get some sleep. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow."

Janos sighed as he watched his friend walk back into the darkness of the hallway. Seconds later there came a soft _bamf, _meaning that Azazel had teleported. _Probably gone to return to his restless wife, _Janos smiled. He had never been in a relationship, but it seemed like a wonderful thing. To be in love, according to Azazel, you would never look at life the same way again. But Janos didn't think he would ever experience that.

After all, what woman would be able to stand his powers, his strength? Sometimes Janos saw himself like the tornados he created; viscous, deadly, brutal…yet with a soft centre, kind and gentle. Only his teammates had stuck around along enough to see that soft side of him, nobody else. _Who would love a monster like me? _Sighing inwardly, Janos stood, taking his water bottle in one hand and throwing his towel over his shoulder. His legs were burning with every step, yet no longer threatening to give away. Walking from the gym, he left the full moon behind to shine through the window in his wake.

**XxxxX**

The smell of waffles woke Janos. Draped over his bed, he gradually cracked an eye open and smiled. He loved waffles more than anything. Out of all the American foods to get used to when he first moved from Spain, waffles took the least. Muscles still sore from last night, but nowhere near as badly, he rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. It was cracking slightly, but what could you expect from an abandoned hotel? They had moved here soon after the whole Cuban incident. It was away from any prying eyes for, and large enough to fit forty guests. So for the six member of The Brotherhood, it was more than enough space. Janos had one of the smallest rooms but that was how he liked it.

Finally knowing he couldn't resist waffles a moment longer, he jolted out of bed and hopped to the floor. The sunshine instantly his bare chest when he was in range of it, causing him to smile inwardly. As he walked out the door, Janos flicked his hand behind him. A strong gust of wind instantly blew his sheets back to the proper position, with the pillows smacking halfway up the wall before settling down upright. Normally he would turn to see if he had made the bed tidily enough to his liking, but not today. Janos knew he needed to get to the kitchen quickly, in fear that all the waffles had been taken.

He could hear the laughter and chatting of his friends as he reached the kitchen, after running down two sets of stairs and three hallways. Janos walked in the room, taking in the light, happy atmosphere. Raven and Azazel were cuddled together on the couch at the opposite wall, her laughing at something her boyfriend had said. Catching Azazel's eye, Janos raised his eyebrows in silent questioning.

"I was telling her the time when I found myself stuck in the middle of the Chinse Festival."

Janos nodded, smirking at the memory. "You came back to us with a paper lantern hanging from your tail and a bowl of noddles in your hands."

"The old woman just shoved them in my hand!" Azazel protested as Raven laughed loudly again. "It's not like I wanted Chinese noddles!"

"Yeah, right." Angel Salvadore said from the stove. Smoke was coming from the pans in a thick cloud, making her cough.

Acting instantly, Janos swirled a tiny hurricane to life on his palm then released it into the air. With graceful sweeping of his hand, he guided his little hurricane toward to stove where it gathered all of the smoke. Flicking a window open with another gust of wind, Janos drifted the hurricane out the window where it vanished into thin air.

"Gracias." Angel said, making him smile at her Spanish.

"No problem." Sitting down at the breakfast bar he waited patiently for his serving of waffles.

Angel turned and placed a plate piled with waffles in front of him. Janos was taken aback slightly; there had to be at least six. He looked from the food to her; she smiled wickedly at him, face still red from the heat of the stove. Or, at least that's what he told himself.

"Hey!" Raven shouted from the couch, shooting to her feet. "How come he gets double the amount we got?"

"Because he saved me from choking and dying, that's why." Angel shot back.

"No fair." Raven pouted, walking up to Janos who was neatly cutting his food into small pieces. Before he could stop her, she swiped one of his waffles, dancing back with a victorious laugh.

With a heavy sigh that turned into a laugh, Janos continued eating. He was usually teased by Azazel for his neatness and the properness in which he ate. The food was sweet and crisp, yet melting in his mouth like butter. He closed his eyes to savour every bite, so all too soon his fork couldn't find anything to stab. Opening his eyes, he looked down at his plate to find it empty. Janos lifted his head to see Angel leaning on the bench across from him, elbow on the table and chin in her palm. She had a faraway look in her eyes, yet instantly snapped to attention when Janos lightly cleared his throat.

"What? Sorry." Angel gushed, cheeks reddening once more. Janos brushed her apologies away with a shake of his head.

"Best waffles I've ever eaten," he told her. He wasn't lying, and she knew it.

Janos stood from the table with the plate in his hands. Angel's eyes instantly dropped to his muscular stomach, making Janos feel embarrassed as she when she looked up to see him watching her. Heat flaring in her face once again, she turned her head sharply away and grabbed up the kitchen cloth. Janos wanted to laugh when he saw Angel scrubbing furiously at the kitchen bench, but didn't want to embarrass her any further. As he walked past her and started washing his plate and utensils, his mind pondered, _why was she looking at me like that? _Watching Raven around Azazel, he understood that women were attracted to a man with a good build. So…did that mean that Angel _liked _him?

Now that he thought about it, this wasn't the first time Janos had caught Angel looking at him like that. And she was always the first to jump to his defence in battle, if Azazel didn't kill everyone straight off the bat. _But do I feel the same way about her? _He asked himself. Stealing a glance, he took his first proper look at her that morning. She was very beautiful, with tan skin and long, black hair. This morning she wore a lime green nightgown that came to her knees.

"Good morning everyone." Erik's voice jolted Janos from his deep thoughts; he hurriedly looked up to see their leader stroll through the doorway, Emma quick on his heels. Erik was quick to notice the pile of waffles and set himself to filling his plate. "Who made waffles?"

"I did," Angel answered quietly. She had stopped cleaning the bench and was instead picking at her nails.

"Good." Erik gave one of his rare smiles as he drowned his food in maple syrup. "Very good, these look excellent."

"How much fat is in them?" Emma asked Angel, sniffing at the sweet food.

"I don't know. Why don't you have one and find out?" Angel sniped back.

Sensing Angel's mood swing, Janos distracted Emma by pushing the tray to her. She hurriedly shook her head and backed away, as if it was rotting cow flesh. Janos watched, amused, as she walked around to his side of the bench to get a carrot from the fridge. Emma lent against the fridge door, arms crossed, taking a loud bite out of the carrot. She suddenly noticed Janos watching her, a smirk on his face. "What?"

"That carrot you're eating, it's rotten."

Emma dropped it with a dramatic gasp, eyes wide and mouth dropped open. Janos laughed at her reaction, leaning back on the bench behind him with both hands. Emma glared daggers at him, eyes dark with anger. She hated being told what to do, or doing something wrong. Snatching the rotten thing off the floor, she stormed over to the bin and threw it in. "And your hair looks like it got stuck in one of your hurricanes."

That stopped him; Janos hated nothing more than his hair being messed up. It had taken him years to grow it out and he wasn't about to walk around with it messy. He could hear everyone else laugh as he rushed to the mirror on the wall by the couch, only to see that Emma had tricked him. It wasn't a bit everywhere; instead every hair was in place just how he liked it. He frowned at Emma when he turned back around, finding her laughing at him from the waste bin. "You should have seen your face, Janos! You looked horrified!"

After a few minutes everyone had calmed down. Raven was back in Azazel's arms, head against his bare chest. Emma and Angel were chatting quietly on the stools while Erik was cleaning his plate. Janos sat on the couch next to Raven, hands in his lap, leaning forward with his eyes closed. It was such a beautiful day; it would be a great shame to just let it pass. The sun was warm on the side of his face and he relished the touch of it.

"So, Erik," Azazel broke the easygoing silence. "What are we doing today?"

"Well," Erik started slowly, finally putting his dish away, "There's a new mission that's come up. Something we need to deal with almost immediately. I didn't know how bad it was getting till I read the paper this morning."

"We?" Raven caught onto that one word, her face becoming serious like Azazel's when it came to duty. "Who is going on this mission?"

"Everyone."

Every time there was a mission or a raid to do, Erik selected people from the team he thought would do the best job of it while everyone else stayed at the hotel. Never before had there been a mission in which _every _member was needed, and it made excitement stir in Janos' gut. He opened his eyes, colours swirling in his vision from the sunshine, listening carefully as Erik explained the situation.

Their leader had the flats of his hands on the bench, his icy hard eyes looking over all of them. "Based after what happened in Cuba, President Kennedy launched a program in order to protect homo sapiens from us. It's called Operation: Wide Awake. Their goal is to collect mutant DNA, using it from research purposes only, in order to get a better understanding of us. They pose no threat to us yet, but already they have so much on our species. Like I said on that beach five months ago, we get ready to play our hand. We always need to be a step ahead of them. You know those humans _will _turn against us, you saw it on that beach in Cuba. This time, we'll be ready for them. This time, we'll attack first."

"When do we leave?" Janos asked. He wanted to get his hands on these scientists as soon as possible. He didn't know how these humans were collecting their DNA and that was what made him angry. For all he knew, they could have test subjects or be breeding them.

"Friday night, so we have two days to prepare." Erik answered. "I want everyone," he started looking around the room again, "ready to go for battle. I don't know how vicious this is going to be but we can't take any chances."

The thought of wearing his battlesuit made Janos smirk with excitement. Shaw had just given him and Azazel tailored suits to wear into battle; as beautiful as they were, they were helpless against any kind of attack. When he came into leadership, Erik was quick to realise this and provided the team with their own custom made armour with the exception of Raven, who refused to wear clothing of any kind. Each member had black armour but had a different colour across the back, chest and arms. Another difference was the design of the armour; Janos' own armour left his underarms and sides of his shoulders free, should he need to spin his body at high speed at any given time.

"I need everyone to brush up their attack techniques; in pairs so we can get this done quicker. Azazel and Mystique, you'll be out the back. Angel, you're with Riptide. You two will be on the rooftop. Emma, with me." Erik walked from the room, calling out over his shoulder. "Come on, there's not a second to waste."

**XxxxX**

"Are you ready for this?" Janos asked Angel, shifting his legs into his attack stance.

She nodded from where she stood a few meters away, face hard. The rooftop was where most of the sun had hit first, so already Janos could feel a little bead a sweat trickling down the back of his neck. They had changed into their fitness clothes, jean shorts and tank tops.

Janos knew he was responsible for sharpening Angel's skills for the upcoming battle, so he gave her the hardest training exercise yet. "I want you to hit me."

"What?" Angel was clearly taken aback.

"I want you to hit me with one of your acid balls." He repeated.

She shook her head. "No, you'll be seriously wounded."

"I don't care." He told her. Seeing that she was not going to be easily swayed on this, he gave a gentle smile. "Come on, if you can hit me through a tornado, you can hit anything. This'll prove that you're more than ready for anything that's thrown your way."

"No," Angel started to back away. "I won't hurt you."

Janos knew why she couldn't do it: she secretly liked him. It was now crystal clear thanks to breakfast, and Janos wondered why she wasn't about to come out and tell it to his face. Angel was such a headstrong girl; she was always upfront about her feelings and not afraid to say what she thought. He knew that this would be hard for her, but that was the point. Angel needed to learn to push herself through hard situations.

"I can't do this. "Angel turned to walk away.

A little frustration twisted in Janos' gut; he hadn't come this far in the team by quitting. Shaw had been a much more brutal trainer, often throwing grenades into Janos' hurricanes; if Janos wasn't quick enough in tossing them out, he would be blow to pieces. Every day with Shaw had tried to hurt him, whether it be physically or verbally. Although he had hated the man, Janos had to thank him for making him as strong as he was today.

Shooting out a hand, he snatched at the air and pulled his fist toward his chest. The wind instantly caught on Angel and spun her around to face him; she stared at him with wide eyes. Janos knew she had seen this side of him before, the cold expression and eyes. But never directed at her.

Taking a step forward, Janos spoke slowly, his voice far from the gentle tone he had used before. "Listen to me, Angel. You can't make it in this team if you quit. Not like you did in the X-men."

Angel lifted her chin stiffly on that last remark, her own eyes starting to darken with anger.

"We are not here to play games. We are not here to do things we don't want to do. Do you think we deserve to be treated by those humans like that?" He pointed at the city in the distance, voice rising to a scream. "They torture us; take our blood and our lives, all in the name of science! I won't stand for that, Angel! And neither should you!"

The wind had picked up around them at his anger; it was one of the rare moments when his control on his power slipped. Never taking his eyes off hers he continued coldly, "We're attacking their home base in two days. You need to be ready for that." Janos paused, inhaling sharply. "If I lost you," He spat, furious at the thought, "I don't know what I would do with myself."

Angel took in his every word, never moving or seeming to blink once. She seemed frozen in place, held by his anger and his will to make her strong enough to survive the next two days. Her eyes were so dark they were almost black; with anger or something else, Janos couldn't tell. Her right hand trembled slightly at her side.

Slowly Janos took control of the wind around them; it started to die down till the dust settled. He didn't know if his words had any affect on Angel, the girl wasn't letting anything show on that pretty face of hers. Attempting to calm himself before his power slipped again, Janos ran both his hands through his thick hair, gripping the black strands in his fingers. The sharp pain replaced a bit of the anger burning inside of his stomach; he closed his eyes and slowly let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

When he opened them again, Angel had changed position. She had her legs close together, back straight and arms held out from her sides. When he caught the dangerous gleam in her eye, she lifted her head defiantly. Janos gave an inward grin as he realised she was about to attack him with everything she had.

"You ready for this?" He questioned as he flexed his hands, readying to release his hurricanes.

Angel answered by unfurling her wings; Janos had to marvel at the beauty at the way the wings peeled gracefully from her skin, long and fragile like a dragonfly's. _Now _she was ready, he could tell. Her eyes gleamed, battle-hungry, as she lifted herself into the air.

Bunching up the hard-worked muscles in his arms, Janos lifted his palm to the sky, moving his fingers in swirling motions all while keeping his eyes looked onto her. He thought he saw her grin wickedly, just before she launched her first acid ball at his face.

**XxxxX**

**What did you think? Review! Thank you so much for reading, more will be up! Yay! Bye for now! :3**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2! Yay! Thank you to those who have read chapter one, every time the number of views increases I get very excited! Please enjoy this chapter, and leave a review!**

**XxxxX**

Janos bent his head aside just in time for the toxic ball to miss him. He could actually hear the acid hissing loudly as it flew past his left ear, just missing a lock of his hair. The growing hurricanes in his hands caught it and tossed it away, where it spattered to the ground. Janos' heart was already starting to pound a little quicker than before; Angel was faster than he had given her credit for. But not quick enough to hit him. "You'll have to try harder than that!" he yelled over the roaring of the wind.

His hurricanes had now reached over two meters tall; they were similar in size to the ones he made on Shaw's boat in what seemed like a lifeline ago. Janos could feel the power and strength in each of them and grinned; _if Angel can beat me, _he thought as he scanned the sky for her, _I would be so proud of her. _He couldn't see the young woman though; she had vanished into the clear sky. _Where is she?_

A hissing sound approached from his right, a higher angle than last time – he quickly released his hurricanes from his palms, where they tried to reach for her. Janos couldn't hear her wings beating – they were silent, even in flight – but he knew she had flown out of the way of his sucking winds. He didn't know what would happen if he did manage to suck her into one of his hurricanes; if he wasn't careful, she could be smashed onto the concrete like an egg.

Janos didn't wait around to find out where her next attack was coming from. Crossing his arms over his chest, hands balled into fists, he closed his eyes and jerked his body violently to the left. Instantly wind started to produce at his feet; he let its force spin him around again and again and again. Janos could hear the harsh screaming as it rose higher and higher around his body. It was his shield, protecting him from harm. Without it, he would surely be helpless. He wanted to laugh with joy; nothing in the world matched the feeling of being inside a hurricane, but he forced himself to say sober and focused. Shaw had at least taught him that, to never let go of the task at hand.

Angel's acid bombs were hitting his shield at a tremendous rate; through the howling of the wind Janos could hear the sounds of rapid-fast gunfire as she attacked him relentlessly. Because his eyes were closed he couldn't see the acid balls. But they whistled and sang and hissed in his ears and against his skin. Their droplets were so close to touching his skin – but the wind always snatched them away in time. He didn't have to open his eyes to know they were being disintegrated around him. With enough force, his hurricanes could rip apart a human body.

His mind drifted off in the familiar sense of spinning; to anyone watching, they would just see an enormous hurricane with yellow light scattering through it. Erik once asked Janos if he got cold inside there, if he ever felt like he wanted to throw up from spinning so fast. But Janos had denied the claims instantly. In his younger days, sickness had been a problem. He hadn't been the strongest of children against illness, one of those surprisingly being that he had a weak stomach. But that was all in the past, which had been washed free from him as he grew older and more confident.

Something suddenly hit his shoulder so hard it felt like he had been shot with a bullet. Janos instantly jerked himself the opposite way he was spinning; the hurricane immediately began to give away. His arms uncrossed in order to stop his body from continuously turning; standing still he could feel the wind peeling from him, starting from the top. As always he felt a little exposed, but that quickly passed. Janos' eyes fluttered open to watch the last of the wind vanish into the air. He missed the sensation of spinning already.

The pain felt like someone had poured gasoline on his shoulder and lit it. He turned his head to look at the severity of the wound and was taken aback by the amount of damage Angel could do. The skin on his left shoulder was covered in bright yellow acid. It hissed and spat at him when he reached a hand toward it; he winced when some of the acid flew onto the side of his neck. Janos had known that Angel had been strong enough to complete his task, to hit him, and he was right. He smiled with pride but then the pain attacked him again. This time it felt like a branding. With a hiss of his own, he knelt on one knee, eyes watching the acid slowly burn deeper into his skin.

"Oh my God, Janos!" Angel came running from behind him; she had seen him stop his hurricane and quickly landed to see why so sudden. "You're hit!"

Janos raised his head when she crouched in front of him; she stared at his wound with wide, frightened eyes. He watched as she brushed hair back from her face with both her hands; she seemed panicked that she had hurt him.

"You did it." He told her with a calm smile. "You beat me, I knew you could."

"This is not funny!" She snapped at him. "I've hurt you really bad!"

"I told you to." Janos reminded her. "And besides," he looked at the wound again. "It'll heal in time."

"How can you be so calm?" Angel was starting to shake; he could see it in her hands. "I – I _burnt _you, Janos. Really bad. Erik isn't going to like this – he's going to be so angry at me –"

"Hey." Janos grabbed her hands in his own, wanting to still her fears. "Erik is not going to get mad at you. Okay? I promise he won't."

"But what are you going to tell him?"

"That you're more than ready for Friday. You managed at hit me through a hurricane, something no one else has been able to do." Janos smiled softly at her, wanting to see her smile back at him. "Erik knows that; he's going to be proud of your progress."

Angel didn't flinch when he brushed back a lock of her hair with his fingers, nor when his hand stilled on her hair. Janos had the urge to stroke it, to feel its softness for himself. _I don't want to freak her out, _he told himself. The pain had almost left his mind completely while he lost himself in Angel's beautiful dark eyes. He could see specks of light brown, like chocolate, but mostly her eyes looked black.

"Janos." Azazel suddenly appeared a few feet away, causing a startled Angel to pull back. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Janos told him despite the fact that the agony was starting to make his vision blur. Or maybe it was the acid? Either way he didn't want his friends to know, to worry about him. "I'm fine," he repeated; but it felt like he was trying to convince himself instead of them.

Azazel shook his head, face hardening when he saw Janos' head sway heavily away from them. Janos went to reassure him again, but instead his face drained of all colour and he crashed to the ground unconscious.

**XxxxX**

It was night time when Janos' eyes fluttered open. The sun was still shinning, but it was dulled by his grey and violet curtains. Groggily turning his head he saw that he lay in his own bed; he still wore his jean shorts but his tank top was gone. He closed his eyes again and, after a minute to collect his thoughts, threw the sheets from his body and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Agony instantly ripped through his left shoulder, making his open his mouth in a silent scream. He had been in pain many, many times of his life and had learnt not to show it, never to scream aloud. Janos' heart was already pounding a little quicker; slowly he looked over at his shoulder.

It was heavily covered in bandages that diagonally crossed his chest and back to hold it in place. Janos wanted to see how badly the wound was, but he knew better than to take off the bandage. Gingerly he hovered his fingers around the edges, allowing a little breeze to flutter underneath the tightly concealed wound. It dulled the pain the tiniest amount; he gave a small sigh and drew his hand away. Angel's acid defiantly had more of an affect on him than he thought. He knew that it would cause terrible pain, something he could handle, but he didn't know he would black out from it. The last thing he remembered was…was being on the rooftop with Angel and Azazel. It had been…Wednesday morning.

Then another thought hit him: _how long have I been out? _He hurriedly looked to the clock on the wall: ten o'clock at night. Janos shot to his feet, wanting to find the team; the agony gripped his head, giving into a pounding headache. With a gasp Janos sat heavily back on the bed, right hand pressed to his temple. He wanted to escape his room, to let his friends know he was awake, but the pain wouldn't let him.

_Where is everyone, _he thought. By now someone, Emma at least, should have heard him and come to check up on him. Closing his eyes, trying to ignore the headache, Janos projected his mind while concentrating on an image of Emma. If he could contact her within the hotel, she could help him out and let everyone know he was okay.

"Emma," he spoke inside his head, hoping she could hear him. "It's me, Janos. I'm awake."

Nothing met his thoughts except empty silence. The headache started surfacing again and Janos had to grip harder onto his temple to keep it out. He waited for Emma to reply; had she even heard him at all? _Maybe she's just busy, _he told himself. But still, it was very strange for Emma not to answer immediately. She was powerful telepath; she could talk to three people inside her mind at once if she wanted.

"_Janos." _Emma replied suddenly. _"Where are you?"_

"In my room," he answered with a small sigh of relief. "Tell everyone I'm awake and okay. They must be worried about me."

"_Angel says she glad you're awake," _Emma said after a moment. _"So does Azazel. He was worried you'd wake up a lot later than you have."_

Janos smiled, though she couldn't see it. "Good. Thank you, Emma. Tell them I'm coming down to see them."

"_No, you won't be." _Emma's words stopped Janos in his tracks.

"What? Why not?" Janos asked.

"_Because we are not at the hotel." _She answered. _"None of us are, only you._

He went to speak but she cut him off.

"_It's Friday, Janos, don't you know? We're at the site of Operation: Wide Awake."_

His breathe stuck in his throat; he inhaled so sharply pain stabbed into his lungs. "You went on the mission without me?"

"_You were still unconscious when we left." _Emma explained, though it didn't make Janos feel any less guilty for not being there. _"We predicted you would still be out when we came back."_

"I can still come!" he cried to her inside his mind. "I can still fight! This is what I've been training for!"

"_I'm sorry, Janos." _Emma said, though she didn't sound sorry. _"You're still not stable enough to stand up let alone fight. You're not a part of this mission."_

"No, please!' Janos felt like an abandoned child, betrayed and alone. "I can do this!"

"_Erik's orders." _She replied coldly. _"We're not allowed to have you here. We'll see you when we get back, Janos. This won't take long."_

"Wait!" His cry only spiralled off into blackness; Emma didn't answer him. She had broken the connection, he could tell from the deafening silence. The headache still persisted but he didn't care about it anymore. Slowly he lowered his hand from the side of his head; his fingers shook slightly. His mind couldn't grasp the fact that he was left behind. His friends were going to battle for justice for mutants everywhere, and he wasn't a part of it.

It wasn't only that they had abandoned him here…it was the fact that it had happened again. This wasn't the only time in his life he had been left alone; it wasn't the only time he had been left in agony and guilt without a soul around.

A heavy wave of helplessness over took him; there was nothing he could do but wait for their return. Janos let his body fall heavily back onto the bed and threw the sheets over himself again. Roughly, he turned onto his stomach, not really caring at the moment if he damaged his shoulder any more. Sleep quickly washed over his body, carrying him away from his pain and agony.

**XxxxX**

"Riptide."

Janos' eyes shot open instantly; Erik was standing in of him, still in his battlesuit and helmet. Letting of the pillow he gripped in both his hands, Janos pushed himself up from the bed. Pain made him freeze as his shoulder was jerked too roughly; Janos didn't show the hurt to his leader. Luckily, Erik wasn't watching closely enough to see it.

"Is everyone okay?" Janos asked hurriedly, despite the pain his shoulder gave him as he sat up in bed. The mission had been a dangerous one; he expected at least one person to be wounded but he didn't know who.

Erik shook his head slowly and for the first time Janos noticed how bleak his eye's leaders seemed, how dull and lifeless. There was a dark liquid splattered over his uniform; Janos could only hope it was human blood, not a mutant's.

Terror and pain was starting to curl up in Janos's stomach; he knew something was dreadfully wrong. He had never seen Erik this…helpless. "What is it?"

"Angel and Azazel." Erik whispered, not looking at him in the eye. "They're dead."

At those two names and two words, Janos' world crumpled around him. Everything shut down: his mind, his body; he swore he felt his very soul die. Janos' heart ripped inside of his chest; his heartbeat faded from his ears to blackness. His lungs didn't seem to work anymore. As much as Janos tried to suck in air, nothing came. There was only the empty, hollowness inside of him. It was as if he had no heart anymore.

Janos' legs had given way and he found himself on his knees on the floor. His arms didn't have the strength to hold him up as he sobbed uncontrollably. His head had fallen forward, hair dangling in front of his face. Janos' chest jolted again and again as agony and grief ripped him to pieces from the inside out. His best friends lay dead and he hadn't been there for them. Somewhere Erik was muttering words of comfort, rubbing his bare back with a warm hand.

At that moment everything inside of Janos came undone. All his life his loved ones had lain around him dying. Their blood stained his heart and soul; he would never be free of this agony. And now Angel and Azazel. _God, _why was life so cruel? It had taken everyone he loved away from him, no matter how hard he had tried to save them. Janos' had known pain all through his life, be it physical or emotion.

But nothing hurt as much as right now, when everything he had ever held onto had been ripped from him.

With a loud scream of agony Janos tore the bandages from his shoulder. Closing his eyes he gripped the black burn wound and squeezed it till his hand was shaking. Blood welled from the wound, slipping down his skin like the tears on his cheeks. The agony burned like a thousand furnaces, but was nothing compared to the pain of losing his friends.

Hands grabbed his own, trying to prise them off his wound but Janos shoved them away. He didn't want anyone stopping him; he didn't want anyone touching him. All he wanted was Angel and Azazel. They were the only people who could truly understand him, the only ones who could make this all better.

But they were gone. And they were never coming back.

**Omg, their dead! :( I actually cried in the movies when that happened. But how will Janos take it on the long term? His best friend -brother, more like - and the girl he loved, gone! **

**Thank you so much for reading this story, it means a lot to me!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello there! Here we are, chapter 3! Enjoy!**

**XxxxX**

The next few days Janos fell deep into depression. He couldn't eat or sleep; his wound became infected because he would constantly open it again. For the first time since growing out his hair, it was unkempt and ragged. Janos would barely come out of his room anymore, insisting to stay there with his curtains drawn. Erik and Emma tried to consol him, at times yelling at him to snap out of this state but Janos would only stare blankly at the floor. He didn't want to be comforted, to be told that everything would be alright. Because deep inside his broken heart, Janos knew that nothing would ever be alright again.

Janos's face twisted with rage as he beat the punching bag with his bare fists. When he wasn't in his bedroom, he was in the gym. The pain that came with each punch left him wanting more; it was the only thing he found that would take his mind out of depression, even for a short while. While his shoulder jolted with each hit his mind whirled and spun madly. He had taken so much abuse in his life, be it his own childhood or his leader. All through Shaw's and Erik's leadership, Janos had thought himself so strong. He thought he could withstand anything. But his careful harness on his powers had slowly started to slip since Angel's and Azazel's deaths. Janos' fuse flared quicker than before; he was quick to act or speak when someone said something he didn't like. Every piece of fury his body held he beat onto the punching bag.

Raven had left the team on the night of her boyfriend's death. Janos didn't know why, or where she had gone. He didn't even know if she knew Azazel and been killed. _I hope she's safe, _he thought as he threw an extra-hard hit; the impact made his knuckles crack loudly. _For her own sake, I hope she's safe. _ Janos wished she didn't know about Azazel; he didn't know how she would handle it if she did know. Wherever she was, she would find herself a new start where she couldn't get hurt.

"Janos, stop it." Emma's stern voice came from the doorway. "You'll work yourself to death."

"I hope I do!" Janos spat back at her as he threw a quick punch with his right fist, then his left.

"Janos." Emma said. "Your knuckles are bleeding. They're probably broken."

Janos bared his teeth in anger. "Why do you care?"

Emma sounded almost hurt. "Because you're my friend."

He scoffed loudly; it came out of his throat grating and hard, like his voice. "If you really cared about me, you would be lying dead instead of Azazel and Angel."

She went to speak but he cut her off with a scream. "Why did they die, huh Emma? Why didn't you save them?"

"There was nothing I could do –"

"_Shut up!" _Janos gave the bag a final furious punch then spun to face her.

Emma stood at the doorway in her white nightgown; her blue eyes widened and Janos knew without looking what she saw. This morning he had cut five tally marks over his heart. The scores were large, and deep enough to scar permanently. He hadn't bothered to cover the cuts; stirring up a little wind he had dried them so the blood was frozen in rivets down his chest.

Emma's eyes snapped up to his face; she looked horrified that Janos would go this far to consol his emotions and grief. "Why have you done –"

"So they will never be forgotten. " Janos stepped slowly toward her, voice dark. "Every scar is a person that I've lost, Emma."

She seemed fixed on his movements as he pointed to three of the tally marks; he didn't take his eyes off hers. "My parents and my little sister. Our house caught fire one night and they all burnt to death. I was seven."

Then pointed to the two deepest tally marks. One stood next to his sister's mark, the other slashed through all four. "And now Azazel and Angel. Tell me Emma, how many people do you think I'll lose? The next mark could be Erik, Raven, even you.

His voice became slight choked; he screamed while pointing at his chest. "I didn't ask for this, Emma! I don't want this! All I ever wanted was to keep the ones I loved _safe!"_

With that final word Janos couldn't take this anymore. He was sick of losing everyone; of seeing their blood and bodies everywhere he turned. Janos threw his head back and gave a blood-chilling scream of rage and loss. The wind burst out around him like a force field, causing the windows to shatter. Curtains of glass rained down around Janos and Emma like a cascading waterfall.

Janos gripped at his head as terrible pain stabbed him in the mind; the scream died from his throat and he fell to his knees, head dropping forward. He wasn't shaking with sobs like he was before; his body was dry of all tears. Janos knew he didn't have to look to know that Emma was doing this to him; causing him to feel like his mind was being pulled apart. Pulling on his hair, he opened his mouth to scream again but all that surfaced was a faint gasp of pain.

"_Pull yourself together!" _Emma shouted inside his mind all while making the pain worse. _"You're not the only one that lost friends that day!"_

Janos wanted to reply that she had no comparison to him; she hadn't lived the life he had. But the agony was so bad he could do nothing but press his forehead to his knees and grip at the sides of his head.

"Emma? What are you doing to Riptide?"

At Erik's voice, the pain lessened but didn't disappear entirely. Janos could hear the snarl in Emma's voice as she answered, "He's too unstable, Erik! I tried to comfort him but he lost control of his powers and broke all the windows!"

"Let him go." Erik ordered sternly, not a hint of emotion in his voice toward the woman.

The agony gripping his mind instantly vanished leaving Janos breathless, lungs gasping for air. After a few muttered words from Erik that Janos couldn't make out, Emma leave the room. Janos stayed on his knees with his head gripped between his broken hands, unable to make himself move from his fertile position.

"Riptide," Erik said quietly. The leader came to him and put a hand on Janos' good shoulder. "Their deaths were not your fault."

"Yes they were." Janos sobbed tearlessly. "If I had been there –"

"If you had been there you probably would have died too." Erik explained softly. "Emma and I escaped just in time. If we had been a second later getting away –"

"You abandoned them!" Janos screamed, finally looking at his leader. "You abandoned them, you and Emma! They didn't deserve to die the way they did!"

"Get out."

"What?"

"I said get out, Riptide. Leave. I can't have you here anymore."

"Erik, no –"Janos felt so confused; one moment his leader was trying to comfort him and the next he was telling him to leave.

"You're nothing but a dead weight to this team. All you've done since the mission is wallow in your own self-pity and guilt while Emma and I still fight to secure our future! I can't have you here. There's nothing I can do to fix a broken man."

"Erik, please." Janos couldn't let this happen. He wasn't about to drive another person away from him. "Don't do this."

But Erik only shook his head. Those blue eyes that were normally so harsh were now full of sadness. "I'm sorry, Riptide. I know how you feel right now. I know how bad losing the people you love is –"

"Then help me!" Janos cried. He beat the ground with a fist; pain flared through his broken knuckles like he had hit them with a lead pipe.

"I can't." said Erik as Janos tried to hide the agony. His voice was the softest Janos had ever heard it. "I can't help you. You need to fix your own broken heart. Only you can do this."

Janos' body somehow found the energy to produce tears. They blurred his vision and dripped down his cheeks like rain from the clouds. Too ashamed to meet Erik's eyes anymore he pressed his forehead against the cold ground. His breath came in shuddering gasps. Everything in his entire body ached. With a sob, the wall of protection he had built over his hurt finally crumpled to ashes. Janos didn't feel strong anymore; his heart had been broken and he couldn't understand why it had all happened. Why was the world so cruel to him?

He became the little boy again, the one who sat in the ashes of his house clutching at the corpses of his parents. Abandoned by those he loved and confused, the child had shaken his parents and then his dear little sister, not understanding why they wouldn't wake up. When strong arms lifted him from the ashes, he had fought and screamed with all his might for his parents, his sister, for someone to get up and save him. But not one of them moved. They just lay there, staring at him with glassy eyes as he was taken away in the arms of strangers. Since that horrible day Janos had built a wall over his pain, shielding his emotions from anyone and everyone. The children at foster care called him freaky, the ones at high school "weirdo" or "stupid". Even the teachers seemed to avoid him. Janos would rarely speak even when spoken too, leading many to believe he was dumb. He was beaten often, sometimes even by his own hand.

And now it happened again with the loss of Angel and Azazel. Everything came flooding back to Janos: his parents and sibling's bodies around him, the abuse he suffered at school. The faces of those he had lost blurred together in his mind, a mess of people that had been left behind. _It's all my fault. _The thoughts came back too; Janos lived on them as a boy, for they were what would drive him to punish himself. _Everything that's happened in my life is my fault. Everyone that I've lost, they died because of me. _

Suddenly Erik's arms were around him, his head pressing atop of Janos'. Janos only sobbed harder in the embrace; his little sister, Madisol, would hug him like this whenever he was down. God, he missed her so much.

No words were needed between the two men to share their grief. Erik knew how painful this moment in life was for his fellow teammate. He knew how Janos had tragically lost his family; Emma had read the man's mind one night then told Erik everything. Erik himself had lost his mother and Charles. The passings of Angel and Azazel had been another nail to the chest for Erik but he knew Riptide would take it the hardest, given his past. Azazel had been a brother to Riptide, just like Charles to Erik. Pity stirred in Erik's stomach; he hated himself for forcing Riptide to leave but it was what was best for him. The man needed time to heal his heart and eventually leave the past in the past.

With a calm sigh Erik lifted his head off his teammates. Janos felt Erik's hand move up to the back of his shoulder but he still couldn't bring himself to look at his leader in the eye. He had not been there for the mission when they needed him. He had let the team die. His task on the Wednesday had been to train Angel but all he had done was secure her death. That burn scar Janos had gained from the training lesson used to be a mark of pride that Angel had hit him. Now it was a painful reminder that she was gone. The pieces of his heart were slowly being further pulled apart with each passing second.

"I loved her." He whispered to himself. "I…I loved her."

"Angel loved you too." Erik said sadly. "She told me to tell you that just before we attacked the base. I… I think she knew she was going to die that night."

Nausea twisted in Janos' stomach and he fisted his broken hands on either side of his head in order to block it out. The pain only got worse as he hauled in breath after shuddering breath. Angel knew? How come she didn't try prevent her death – why hadn't she said anything? Janos could have – _oh my God. _A sudden realization left his body shaking and skin cold. That day when he had blacked out from her acid: that wasn't an accident. Angel had hit him specifically with a large dose in order to put him out for the mission. She had saved his life all while giving her own. Did she know how distraught she had left him? Janos felt like he was a brick wall, once indestructible but now falling to rubble. He choked on a sob. How could she do this to him?

Janos started to rock himself, fingernails gripping his head so hard he could feel a trickle of blood weave through his hair. The pain in his stomach became worse; it felt like he'd been stabbed with a red-hot knife and left to bleed out. There was nothing he could do drive the agony away, only drown in it like he had all those years ago. It was what his whole life had been: learning to cope with this pain. But everyone man has his breaking point. "Kill me."

"What?" Erik's hand moved to Janos' good shoulder. He leaned closer, not sure he had heard the man right.

"Kill me!" Janos' hands shook from the pressure he was gripping, his fingers turned white. The additional pain from his broken hands made him grit his teeth in agony. Stale tears ran down his face and dripped onto the ground.

"I – I can't live with this anymore. Please Erik," he begged, voice rising to a scream. "Kill me!"

Erik gripped both of Janos' shoulders hard, trying to get through to him. "You have to fight this, Riptide. Don't let the darkness take you like it did me! Don't repeat my mistake!"

"It was a mistake ever being born!" Janos screamed back, causing the tears to stream faster from his red eyes.

Something inside of Janos snapped. He didn't want to live anymore, his life was worthless. His family and friends were dead, the Brotherhood had been reduced to wreck and ruin. What was there to live for? There was nothing in the past for him in the future. With a scream that fuelled his entire weeping body Janos pushed himself to his feet and ran toward the closest window. The broken glass that remained on the frame jutted up like the teeth of chainsaws. He could hear Erik shouting, even feel the pull of the man's power as he tried to stop him. But Janos' running steps continued to take him ever closer to the edge, to the lethal drop. Without looking back Janos leapt the frame and plummeted into the abyss below.

**XxxxX**

**Ow...I think my heart just snapped...it was so painful to write that scene. He was in so much agony he could take it anymore! :(  
>What do you think's happened? Is Janos actually gone, or will he miraculously survive? Please leave a review, I must know what you think of it so far!<strong>

**Thank you AGAIN so much for reading! I'm going to start posting another story of mine, "Faithless", also starring Janos; so this story MAY be put on a hold for a little while. But if you wish me to continue now, please tell me so in a review or even PM me! Hope you have a wonderful day, and THANK YOU! **


	4. Author's note!

**Hi everybody! I am SO, SO sorry I haven't updated in so long! I know you guys must really be hanging out for more chapters! Okay, so, I'll let you know what's going on, yeah? When I first posted these stories I was anxious to see the kind of result they would get (Like all us authors are, right guys?). A lot of people were viewing them, but nobody was leaving a review so I couldn't tell if anyone actually liked it or not. Then, only the views on "chapter 1" were going up, meaning that people were starting to read it then quit onto something else. That got me wondering, "What have I done wrong? Why don't people like what I've written?" I stopped planning new chapters, thinking that nobody would want to read them.**

**I'm the kind of person that, if I stop doing something I could be really into (writing), then my skills instantly start to deplete. It becomes harder to churn out only 500 words whereas before I could easily do 4000. I honestly didn't have the heart to continue my stories anymore.**

**But then CrawlerCraft reviewed "Blank Cobwebs"! Thank you so much, Crawler Craft, from the bottom of my heart! I got the heart to continue again, knowing that people out there actually did like my stories! So very gradually I am picking up where I left off on "Blank Cobwebs". I apologise again for not posting in a while, but I promise that there will be a new chapter up soon! Yay!**

**Thank you all for being so patient with me and for getting this far into the journey! You're all awesome! And _please, _if you have the time, review! It will mean the world of a difference to any aspiring author!**

**Bye for now! Chapter four of "Blank Cobwebs" will be up soon!**


	5. Chapter 4

**O. M. G. Guess _what _guys! Chapter 4! Yaaaayyy! I really hope you're as happy about this as I am! I am SO sorry this to so long to write! I was desperate to get this done for you guys after not posting for so long, and _here you are! _**

**Thank you SO MUCH to everybody who is reading this story, it makes my heart jump every time the number of views increases through the chapters! And to those who are following or favorited! You're all amazing! And thanks for keeping the wait, again, I am so sorry!**

**Welp, enough of my babbling! You came here to read this, right? So enjoy what I've done, and please_, please review _if you find the time! I would love to know our thoughts on it so far, even if you think it sucks! And if you do, tell me what I can do to improve!**

** !**

**XxxxX **

"Sir, he's coming to."

Janos' head turned sharply toward the female voice though his eyes remained closed. His entire body felt like lead; even moving his head was a tremendous effort. Everything was disorientated; the voice that answered the woman came in muffled mumbles. Slowly, gradually, his senses started to kick in and his thoughts began to collect. _What…what's…happening? _Couldn't the voices just leave him alone to die? Suddenly he realized that his shirt was missing, leaving him in jeans. _What the -_Starting to panic, he kicked out his legs and swiped at the air with heavy hands.

"Sir! _Sir!_" Strong masculine hands grabbed his wrists and another pair secured his legs by the ankles; Janos fought them but his body quickly ran out of energy and he was forced to stop, breaths coming in angry gasps. A beeping sound started up at his left, frantic beyond words. It took Janos a few seconds to grasp that it was monitoring his racing heart. He breathed in air over and over, not realizing how long his lungs had been starved of it.

The back of his head throbbed horribly; a dull buzzing sound suddenly started up in his ears, making him wince. _I'm hurting all over, _Janos realized as he panted, trying to gather his thoughts. Sharp pangs struck him every time he took a breath, like stab wounds in the stomach and chest. Why was it so hard to breathe? _What happened to me?_

"Sir, calm down." The voice told him; it strangely reminded Janos of Erik's voice.

Janos slowly opened his eyes and came face to face with a stranger. The man had glasses and kind brown eyes. In his hands were Janos' wrists; they were heavily bandaged, as were his previously- broken knuckles. _Where the hell am I? _Janos' eyes darted around his surroundings. He lay in a crisp, white bed and there was a heart monitor to his left, as he had suspected.

Janos glanced down at his body; his breathe caught painfully at the sight, causing his lungs to sear. Long, deep slashes and cuts covered his torso, each one criss-crossed with a neat line of black thread. _…stitches? _ Janos thought, trying hard to stay conscious as his vision suddenly blurred violently. _But – but how did I get these cuts? _It couldn't have happened when he threw himself out of the hotel window; the glass had already been broken beforehand, so it couldn't have cut into him.

He painfully, gradually raised his eyes to meet the gaze of the man pinning him by the ankles. The man stared back, expression as calm as the first man with the glasses. Along with the two men holding him to the bed was a young woman standing at the back; _she must have been the one I first heard talking, _Janos realized.

His eyes narrowed darkly as things suddenly started to come together in his mind: waking up in a strange room with strange people pinning him down; their long, white coats; the wounds and stitches covering him, not to mention the throbbing in the back of his head. _I've been captured by Operation: Wide Awake! They must've found me after the fall!_

With a loud scream of rage, he trashed violently, trying to throw the men off.

"You people want to kill me, don't you!" His voice was gravely from lack of use and every word felt like fire in the back of his throat, yet his only focus was on the people in this room.

"You want to cut me open just like you've done the rest of my race! You bastards!" His English became thick from fury, the Spanish prodding more than it normally would. He continued to scream and shout, eventually in full Spanish. "_Asesinatos! Eres todos asesinatos!" ("Murders! You're all murders!")_

The first man looked confused as he struggled to pin Janos' bandaged hands down. "No, sir, we're not –"

Janos pushed against him furiously; the grip on his powers finally slipped and a blast of wind slammed the man into the wall; he slumped to the ground limply. Dead or unconscious, Janos didn't care. With a huge thrust of his legs he did the same to the man holding him by the ankles, catching him up in a cruel twist of wind that smashed him to the linen floor.

Before the body even hit the ground, Janos had leapt out of bed and torn the monitor-wires from his bare chest. His long, coal-black hair whipped across his dark expression as he snapped his gaze toward the window high up the wall. His heart pounded in his ears; the woman's murderous screams were mixing into the beat.

_No time to waste! _Janos shouted to himself. If he didn't escape this building now, he'd become just another victim to fall prey to these mutant-hunters. Without looking back at the hysterical woman or the men on the floor, Janos ran and leapt at the window. His hands caught on the windowsill; agony tore through his veins so badly that he bit his lip till the taste of blood filled his mouth. He didn't miss a beat as he hauled himself up using solely his arm strength; though they trembled, they didn't give way.

The door burst open just as Janos closed his eyes and pitched himself forward through the window. The shouts and screams of other people were drowned out by the ear-splitting _crash _as the glass fell away. He could feel shards of glass cutting across his back when he rolled from the windowsill.

Then, there was nothing but air below him.

Janos dropped like as stone, face turned toward the night sky, bandaged hands reaching into the air above him. The blood that dripped from his back ran up his skin, smearing it in scarlet drops. Janos went to twist his hand or fingers, to call the wind to his aid – but he found himself unable to move. _No, _his thoughts screamed as he opened his eyes to see the ground approaching, closer with every millisecond. _No, please! Help me! _His silent cry was heard by the wind; it wrapped itself around his falling body and within seconds he found himself encased inside his familiar hurricane.

The winds were warm against his cold skin; it whipped the blood off his open wounds and ripped loose the bandage around his burnt shoulder. There was barely a second of warning before his feet hit the sidewalk. Acting instantaneously, Janos rolled to absorb the landing impact then took off running in the first direction – straight.

The streets were abandoned at this time; panic was still firing through Janos' veins, making him run like he had never run in his life. His feet pounded heavily as he sprinted toward the first safe place he saw: an alleyway. In the back of his mind Janos hated himself for running away from those mutant-killers – he'd vowed to himself to never run away from a fight again. These people had been those he was supposed to kill on the mission, too. _But it would be stupid to fight them now, _Janos told himself. _Not at their home-base._ He thanked God it was nighttime right now. If it had been day he would have easily been caught and taken back.

The shadows and the cold chill of the air wrapped over his skin as he entered the alleyway. Only till he reached the end of its length, till he had gone as deep as he could go, did his legs crumple from underneath him. He collapsed against the brick wall heavily, barely finding the strength to turn himself so that his bleeding back was pressed against the wall. Slumping down its surface, his hands weakly hovered, shaking, over his open torso wounds. Janos glanced down at them to see blood and thread dripping from the cuts.

The burn wound on his shoulder flared suddenly; he looked over at it, dully taking in the crusted blood that covered it. A little skin had regrown around the edges, but his shoulder was still black from Angel's acid. His eyes closed as the world swayed beneath him, head dropping to hang heavily from his neck.

"Emma." He whispered through his dry lips. An image of her slowly surfaced in his mind; he clung to it tightly, desperately wanted to establish a connection. "E…_Emma_."

There was nothing but silence. Only the wind answered him, rustling his hair gently. Despair lumped in Janos' throat, heavy and thick. _I have to get back to Emma and Erik,_ he told himself fiercely, _I need their help. _Janos realized that he was wrong before to push Emma and Erik away; they had only been trying to help him through his grief. Now, when he needed them most…when he lay in an alleyway slowly bleeding to death, they weren't there to help him. _Please, _he screamed in his mind as he suddenly started to shiver from the loss of blood, _Emma, answer me!_

"J –"

A sound suddenly exploded in his mind like a blast of static before it was suddenly cut off, making his eyes snap open. Janos' body jerked at the noise; it took everything he had not to scream aloud as his shredded back scrapped against the wall.

"J – _Jan_ –"

It came again, and this time Janos recognized what – or who – it might be. "Emma?"

"Janos!" She sounded relieved that she had finally reached him, but there was something in her voice that made fear churn in Janos' gut.

"Where are you?" He called out, trying not to tear up as his hands shifted to another open wound. "What's wrong –"

"Th - They got me, Janos." Emma answered sadly.

She sent an image of herself to Janos' mind. Nausea hit Janos in the gut at the sight. Emma lay immobilized on a metal table in her human form, wearing only a set of her beautiful undergarments. Wires were attached to her from all sides and electrical currents were being thrown down them. Emma was jerking in helpless agony each time the currents reached her, but she did not cry. Her pride would not allow her to cry, she was too strong for that. Instead she stared at the ceiling, hating every last human who was watching her through the glass plane at her side.

"Oh Emma," Janos moaned, a bloody hand unconsciously rising to his mouth. The image faded but it would be forever imprinted on his heart. _"_Not you too."

"An – and Erik." Emma said as if Janos hadn't even spoken. "He was t – trying to save the p – president but – _ah!_"

Her words cut off in a scream.

"Emma!" Janos yelled. His heartbeat thumped loudly in his chest, bringing with it sharp stabs of pain as blood started to trickle faster from the wounds – but at that point Janos didn't care. He had to get to Emma, he had to _save her! _She was the only one left besides himself – whether Erik was dead or alive, Janos didn't know.

Janos tried to get his feet but it was helpless; no matter how hard he tried, he had not an ounce of strength left in him. His hands felt like they had broken all over again when he pressed them to the ground in order to boost himself up. _I have to help her! _He screamed to himself. _Come on! _

But he couldn't. He just couldn't.

Feeling utterly wretched and useless, Janos fell back against the wall. His back didn't seemed to hurt as much as it had before; in fact, his pain seemed to be numbing.

"_Go!" _Emma suddenly screamed. "You n - need to g - get to the X-mansion!"

"_What?"_ Janos' heavily eyelids snapped back open in shock – _The X-mansion? _"Emma –"

"Charles and Er – Erik were brothers once," Emma again interrupted like Janos had never said anything. "What – what if Charles would –"

"Emma." Janos interrupted softly. "I…I can't."

He barely managed to get the words out before darkness began to press upon him. Heaviness lay on his chest, increasing in weight with each passing second, making his breathing wheeze painfully. Janos could feel himself slipping into blackness; as hard as he fought to keep them open, they started to flutter shut.

He barely opened his lips enough to whisper again, "I can't."

"Please Janos," He heard Emma beg; her voice sounded further away than it had previously been even though she was speaking directly into his mind. "This is our l - last chance. If you give up n- now…"

Janos managed to open his eyelids enough to watch the alley walls sway and bend in sync. He couldn't feel anything anymore. Not the pain, or the heaviness on his chest…not even the wind that was blowing around him in circles, as if it was at loss at what to do for its master.

"Please!" Emma pressed further; he could hear tears in her voice. "You're the only hope for the – The Brotherhood."

He gripped onto her words, trying to find a piece of his strength again.

"You're…the only hope for…" Emma's voice seemed to be fading out; she seemed to have trouble speaking to him through her powers. "For Erik and - and I…please…"

As her connection wavered, so did the last of Janos' spirit. _It would be so easy right now, _Janos thought sleepily, _to give in. To just close my eyes and sleep…I'm so tired…_

The shadows covering him from the alleyway pressed upon him like a thick blanket. Slumped in the back of an alleyway, in the middle of God-knows-where, Janos prepared to fall into inky waves of darkness and never return.

_No!_ He suddenly screamed at himself. _No, I can't let that happen! _The image of poor Emma came to his mind again; _I have to save Emma and Erik! _They were counting on him with their _lives, _he was all they had. Janos thought of the young boy who had lived in the burning while his entire family had burnt; _he had survived that_. He thought of when he was fourteen years old and on the streets; a group of teenagers had pulled their knives on him, looking for someone to kill. Janos had survived that, too.

He thought of the young man, who only two weeks ago was lifting weights at midnight because he wanted to improve for his team. That man would have fought till every last drop of blood was gone from his body; he would have stopped at _nothing _to save his friends when they needed him. Where had that young, brave man gone? _He's still here, _Janos vowed to himself. His heartbeat started to fasten again and a little strength returned to his weary bones.

Janos twisted his body around and scrabbled at the brick wall, fingers gripping into the groves tightly. He couldn't feel any pain anymore; which was both a blessing and a curse. _If I've become that weak – _he thought, trying to pull himself to his shaking knees – _then I don't have much time. I have to hurry before I…_ But he wouldn't let himself continue the thought. He _couldn't _let himself think like that.

The instant he made it to his feet standing, they collapsed. He caught himself against the wall with one hand, the other clutched to his stomach. Breathing was incredibly difficult; air made it to his lungs in short, sharp gasps. Knees weak, body draining gradually of blood, Janos began to inch himself toward the moonlight at the other end of the alleyway.

**XxxxX**

Somehow, what felt like decades later, Janos found himself slumped against the large door to the X-mansion. He would have smiled in sheer relief if he could have; instead, all he could do was wheeze for breath. _I made it, _he told himself. Janos' head dropped to hang from his neck; he found himself staring at his bare feet. They were cut up and bloody, just like the rest of him.

The sun was just beginning to break through the morning clouds, but Janos didn't notice. _He had made it._ Raising a hand, he went to knock on the door but it only fell limply on the wood with a soft _thud._ He went to knock again – but the last slither of whatever was keeping him going failed and his legs instead collapsed from underneath him. Janos hit the door heavily as he crumpled into an unconscious, bloody heap against it. This time when the darkness overtook him, all he could do was obey.

**XxxxX**

**Oh dear, poor Janos! :(  
>Did he make it in time to save Emma and Erik...to save himself?<strong>

**Please excuse any and all mistake, I'm only human!**

**And review! Yay! Thank you!**

**See you next time!**


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